[mrrat1]

freakin nice stuff there!! Just bolt on bare rims save them rotors!! Sweet job!

[stobin]

I like the exhaust tip idea as well. I had looked at the idea after the latest Lexus LS 460 came out. The tips are molded flush into the bumper, and the size would compliment the size of the GA well.

[Big Injun]

Things are really coming along. Can't wait to see the finished product...and one of our local shows.

[stobin]

Thanks Dave...Looking forward to getting it out to some events. Any plans to have another show at Jim Wangers shop this year?

[Chief Wanabee]

[stobin]

Since I have started to make some progress on the remaining parts of the build, I wanted to post some new information. I have been busy with fabrication on the new MK VIII fan installation and custom intake tube. Up to this point I had been running a Taurus 16" electric fan. It was installed the 466 Pontiac motor and worked very well. The nice thing about that fan was that it fit inside the factory shroud. When I started mocking up the LS7 and radiator, I realized there was no room to run the factory fan shroud due to the forward position of the throttle body. This made it necessary to eliminate the factory shroud. Since it was going to be necessary to remove the shroud, this allowed me to have an excuse to remove a perfectly good electric fan, and swap to the 18" MK VIII Lincoln fan I had in the garage. My radiator is huge, and the Taurus fan looked pretty small. So I modified the Lincoln fan by removing the ears. Custom aluminum brackets were fabbed up to mount the radiator to the core support, and fan to the radiator. As you can see I still have a lot of room on the radiator. I think this fan will be overkill, but if any area of the car should have overkill built in, this is it. The next thing to do is build a new custom fan shroud to cover the top of the radiator. The radiator had to sit at a forward angle when the factory fan shroud was installed, so I decided to reposition the radiator in relation to the core support and built some new mounting brackets to mount it a little further back. I will remove the fan in order to sand down the modified areas and paint the entire assembly for a cleaner look. I will be running this as a 2 speed fan.

[stobin]

My other area of concentration on the swap has been the intake tube. A few months ago I picked up some various 4" aluminum tubing in strait, 45* and 90* bends at the local swap meet. Total cost I think was about $60.00. I started positioning everything to see just how I would be able to fab this system up. I originally wanted to buy an aftermarket intake kit with a box and modify it for a cleaner factory look, but I quickly realized there was not going to be enough room. So I started cutting back the tubes to get the correct length needed. I am positioning this on the passenger side area between the inner federwell and core support in order to get as much fresh air as possible. Once the intake is mounted I will be fabricating up a heat shield in order to insulate it from the underhood heat. I contacted Spectre Performance to discuss the engine specs to get a recommendation on a proper sized filter. I am working with Guy over the phone. I want to say that I have received terrific customer support from him. He has helped me with all the details of building a "CORRECT" intake for this engine. After explaining the size of the motor, and the intended use of the car he gave me some part numbers to look at. I purchased their HPR 9892B filter. This is a big filter. It is 7" tall with a 6" opening that you use an offset velocity stack adapter in order to run the 4" tube. Really nice parts. Since the velocity stack is offset, you can fine tune the position of the filter. I also bought their 4" coupler which I like because it looks just like a factory part, and has an accordion feature to allow some movement. So after fine tuning all the lengths, it was only necessary to have one 45* bend in the system to position the intake where I wanted it. I have the GM mass air sensor and mounting kit that will be welded into the tube based on Guy's recommendation regarding clocking position. I will need to weld a tab on the lower part of the tube to mount it somewhere to eliminate any flexing. I plan to powdercoat the tube in wrinkle finish black to get that factory look to it.

[Karch]

Try to locate the MAF sensor about 2/3 the way in along the straight run of piping. It is more important on the upstream side, that is, the filter side, thus the bias towards having it further back.

Looks good.

[ho428]

As much as I enjoy racing and winning with my traditional Pontiac, that engine is enough to make me consider turning to "The Dark Side"

[Karch]

Originally Posted by ho428

As much as I enjoy racing and winning with my traditional Pontiac, that engine is enough to make me consider turning to "The Dark Side"

I've got news for you, have you driven a boosted LS engine?
I drive one daily, and it's quite addicting.

[Chief Wanabee]

stobin, how's the build coming along?

[stobin]

Computer Issues....disregard.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by stobin

Computer Issues....disregard.

No worries, give us a heads up when you get the Dropbox issues sorted.

FYI: In case it looks diff on your device DB image links Showed up as locked here.

[cuz68]

That is one sweet looking engine, I like the vale covers also.

[stobin]

It's been quite a while since I posted. here are some updates. I finally got help figuring out how to use Dropbox to post my pictures. Here are the completed pictures of my intake system. I had it powder coated wrinkle black to give it a more stock factory look. There is a tab built into the far end of the tube to allow a bracket to connect to the tube to the inner fender so it will be more rigidly mounted and eliminate any movement.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wm1ir0djr1...2022.17.36.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3hdbbvpdhe...2022.18.23.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iasx3sj720...2019.23.57.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dzs7iv6c2a...2019.25.18.jpg

[Chief Wanabee]

That's great progress. I really like the choice of seats, and that you added the CL rear seat as well!

They don't seem to be airbag front seats, which surprises me, I thought an '02 would have bags. Is the inner seat belt fastener (near the console) integrated into the seat frame, or are you retaining factory GM for the belts and fasteners?

[stobin]

They actually are airbag equipped, but they have been removed while at the upholstery shop. I will be retaining the factory GM seat belts instead of the seat mounted ones. I already purchased a 3 point belt system from Morris Custom Concepts. I will install them once the seats are fabbed into place.

[stobin]

After 2.5 years of plugging away at this project, the LS7 is now running. I have been working on this non stop the last few weeks in order to get the engine started. All of the little things such as chassis/body/engine grounds, fuel system, wiring, etc were finally finished. I had my fingers crossed when I turned the key, but it did not disappoint me. Other than a minor fuel leak, everything worked perfect. I don't have the fan powered up yet but it only got up to about 190* after letting it run for 5 minutes or so. Oil pressure is fantastic. For anyone that has not read through my build, this is an ERL shortblock with 4.130" bore, 4.0" stroke, with Brodix BR7 cylinder heads ported by Dr. J's Performance. Cam is a custom grind from Geoff at EPS, specs are .631-.640, 226/242, LSA 115+3. Ported LS7 intake, 90mm GM TB DBW, Speartech harness. The video is with open headers and dual 3" cats only. Thanks.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0ig0um9di5...420_130258.mp4

[rohrt]

Nice video. You make it look easy

[stobin]

I realized that it has been a while since I updated the build of the GA. I want to get caught up on some details since it have undertaken some changes to the plan. Since it has been a few months since I updated the build site I thought I would post some new information. I have been working on some minor items such as the DBW pedal assembly, hydraulic clutch hard line installation which are both completed. The DBW is from the Corvette drive assembly I purchased. It was not even close to working with my pedal positioning needs, so a lot of fabbing and re-fabbing took place to get it placed properly. The arm had to be cut and re-welded several times with trial and error in order to position the gas pedal correctly, and allow me to heel/toe the car. I wound up installing a 1/2" spacer underneath the pedal assembly as well to get the pedal height correct. It is now exactly where it feels comfortable, and allows me to slide my shoe over to blip the throttle. The Corvette pedal has a very short travel plane, so I imagine the throttle will be a little sensitive for me at first, but will allow easier rev matching.